America sees its future with India, India sees its future with America: US envoy Eric Garcetti

United States Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti reiterated the strong bond between Washington and New Delhi, and that his country saw its future with India and vice versa. He also highlighted the importance of people-to-people ties, saying that the more connections Americans have with Indians, the more opportunities will arise for economic and educational exchanges. He was speaking on Jan. 13, 2024, at a forum in New Delhi on ‘The United States and India: Building Bridges for Our People.’

“We never know what the future holds, but I’ll say this to my fellow Americans, the more ties that we have to more Indians, and the more ways we can find to grow our economic and educational exchanges, the stronger America and India will both be,” Garcetti said. “In a world that too often cedes space to forces that seek to divide us, both internally and internationally, let us be a voice as we have been, to care for each other across the things that too often separate us, to care across geography and religion, language and income, identity and so much more.”

“Let’s prove any haters wrong the way we always have, by meeting, instead of tweeting, by investing, instead of protesting, by connecting instead of objecting and by bringing people together, acknowledging in this day and age, there will always be some divisive voices, but let’s never mistake the loudest or most clickable comments for being the most representative,” Garcetti emphasized. “We know that there are Americans and Indians who are invested in this relationship and overwhelmingly our populations want this relationship to deepen,” he added.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

He noted that democracy, although challenging to manage, is the best system and that the diversity of people in India and the US make life more interesting. Garcetti praised the resilience of the India-US relationship, which has been fostered over 230 years since the establishment of the first US diplomatic mission in Kolkata.

“The truth is, as I said, Americans love Indians and Indians love Americans. So as we look to the future, on this day, just a week before our country’s democracy will move forward with the new administration, we saw democracy turn the page here in this country with an election last year,” Garcetti noted.

“You know, 230 years of formal cooperation between the United States of America and India since we established our first diplomatic mission in Kolkata. We can honestly say that this relationship has never been stronger and that we are always better when we are together. America sees its future with India and India sees its future with America, a future defined by friendship. Defined by trust and together an unstoppable force for good in the world today,” Garcetti said.

Stressing that visas are potholes for a diplomatic mission, he said, “When I was mayor, I used to say we can’t work on the big things until we get back to the basics. Well, in a city, when you run a city, getting back to the basics means taking care of the streets, filling the potholes, and ensuring that people can move smoothly through town. But for a diplomatic mission, I learned very quickly that visas are our potholes, the core work that we do, and so we’ve focused on trying to make our services better, and our numbers expand. And to serve Indians with the opportunity to connect directly and in person with the United States through travel, and I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished over the last two years.”

All the US diplomatic missions in India are streamlining their operations with new hires and technologies, Garcetti said, to keep up with the demand.

“Since becoming ambassador, we’ve increased our visas by more than 60 per cent, and eliminated wait times for all visa types except for first-time visitor visas, where the wait time is down 75 per cent from our peak, still much further to go, I know, but a great accomplishment,” Garcetti noted, adding that more than five million Indians currently hold a US visa.

Providing for figures on accomplishments, Garcetti said in 2024, the US mission to India met visa interview demand for all first-time student visa applicants; the United States Citizen and Immigration Service has completed more than 1600 relative petitions; his visa team issued tens of thousands of immigrant visas; and India is now the number one source of overseas adoptions for Americans as well.

“We’ve reunited more family members. We’re building families across the Indo-Pacific together and all of this incredible exchange and accomplishment is reflected in what is perhaps our greatest secret weapon in the United States of this relationship, the 4 million strong Indian diaspora that calls America home,” Garcetti said.

Lauding the contribution of the Indian diaspora in India-US bilateral ties, Garcetti said that the Indian community in the US enrich the tapestry of America and fuels the vibrant connection between the two nations. He noted that Indian students and Indian American immigrants help run companies and universities in the US.

“Every single day, because I know there’s been a lot in the news recently about them. They enrich the tapestry of America. They fuel the vibrant connections between our two countries. Indian students, and Indian-American immigrants are there helping run our world’s most important universities, our companies, and our research entities. They’re providing innovation and a record-strong tax base. They fill needs from rural medicine that can’t be met to small business operations that we have trouble finding employees. This makes America, in my opinion, a better and a stronger country.”

He urged his colleagues to continue to work on the India-US ties and even quoted Kabir’s words. He said, “To my colleagues, who will continue the work, wake up every day and imagine yourself looking back on this day with urgency, purpose, and determination. And yes, of course, patience. Working on the US-India relationship requires patience, as does work to grow supply chains, keep our world safe, and heal our planet. But may we each be a gardener in this work, in Kabir’s words, ‘dheere dheere re mana, dheere sab kuch hoye’, Slowly, slowly, oh mind, everything unfolds at its own pace.”

“The gardener may water with 100 pots of water, but the fruit only arrives in its season. So, as I prepare to leave this job as your ambassador, I see a garden full of Indians and Americans who are watering our work. I’ve seen the seeds planted. I’ve seen the sunshine come upon us here on this earth, and I can see the fruit begin to arrive with the spring that is ahead. Count on me to be there with you, India, as we taste the sweetness in the years to come,” he added.